A £400,000 fund for designs for the security of internet-connected products has been announced by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
The aim; development of a market of assurance schemes for consumer ‘smart’ products, also known as the Internet of Things (IoT). Such schemes would demonstrate that a device has undergone independent testing or accredited self-assessment. This will go towards consumers making security-conscious purchasing decisions, the DCMS hopes. Retailers could show they are stocking secure internet-connected devices, and could enable shoppers to make better informed decisions when buying internet-connected devices, such as televisions, cameras, home assistants and their associated services.
Digital Infrastructure Minister Matt Warman at DCMS said: “We are committed to making the UK the safest place to be online and are developing laws to make sure robust security standards for consumer internet-connected products are built in from the start. This new funding will allow shoppers to be sure the products they are buying have better cyber security and help retailers be confident they are stocking secure smart products. People should continue to change default passwords on their smart devices and regularly update software to help protect themselves from cyber criminals.”
The UK Government is looking to make a law for minimum security requirements for consumer smart devices sold in the UK to meet three security requirements:
– Device passwords unique and not resettable to any universal factory setting;
– Manufacturers to provide a public point of contact so anyone can report a vulnerability; and
– Manufacturers to state a minimum length of time for which the device will receive security updates.
Comment
Jake Moore, at the cybersecurity product company ESET, said: “This comes at a time when IoT seems to have been forgotten about, yet funding to support the security of such devices couldn’t be more vital. Many people favour convenience over security so it’s paramount that IoT devices come fitted with security by design, to help protect the devices and customers. This is usually where the manufacturers choose cutting costs over the protection of the end users, which in turn puts the users at risk of a range of potential attacks. Hopefully this will be the beginning of more funding as I’m not sure how far this initial input will go.”
